{"id":827253,"date":"2026-07-26T13:55:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T13:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/827253\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T13:55:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T13:55:10","slug":"whats-next-for-calgary-co-op-as-new-ceo-steps-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/827253\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s next for Calgary Co-op as new CEO steps in"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary Co-op has a new CEO, who\u2019ll take the reins of a co-operative that in recent years has seen an earnings loss followed by a rebound, store closures<\/a>, acquisitions and a public breakup<\/a> with its supplier that sparked a lawsuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we got to start by listening and we got to hear what members want from their Co-op,\u201d said new CEO Andrew Clarke, a 30-year retail veteran, on CBC Radio\u2019s Calgary Eyeopener.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That includes the high cost of groceries, and ensuring members feel they\u2019re getting value, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But some, including longtime members, have raised questions about some of Co-op\u2019s business decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Calgary Co-op has more than 400,000 members, making it one of the largest retail co-operatives in the country, according to its website. <\/p>\n

Clarke joins the grocer after its previous CEO left more than a year and a half ago.<\/p>\n

In recent years, it\u2019s made a number of headline-generating moves. It broke with Federated Co-operative in 2019, switching to the same food supplier of fellow grocer Save-On Foods.<\/p>\n

Major acquisitions followed, with the purchase of Willow Park Wine & Spirits in 2023, and a majority stake in an Ontario-based pharmacy chain, Care Pharmacies, the year after that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One analyst who has studied Calgary Co-op said he thinks in some ways, members are being treated more like investors, rather than part-owners under the co-op model.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we look at when co-ops go off the rails \u2026 it\u2019s [when they] become disconnected from the user interests of their members, right?\u201d said Marc-Andr\u00e9 Pigeon, director of the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ACalgary Co-op launched its private label brand Cal & Gary’s in 2020, following the switch to its new food distributor. (Jennifer Keiller\/CBC)Positive earnings, but debt load rising <\/p>\n

Pigeon says he looked at this year\u2019s earnings with a \u201cdegree of concern.\u201d <\/p>\n

Calgary Co-op pulled in a $6.1-million profit last year, following a $10-million loss in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[They] got a small profit, but that\u2019s attributable to some asset sales,\u201d Pigeon said. \u201cIf they hadn\u2019t sold some assets, they would have been in a loss position again, as they were [the previous] year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2025 earnings show net proceeds of $29 million that came from disposal or writeoff of property and equipment. The earnings report points to “write down of obsolete assets in renovated food centres and gas bars.” <\/p>\n

Co-op brought in $16.7 million in 2023 and $38.7 million in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Long-term debt is also growing, hitting $413 million in 2025, up from $378 million the year prior.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have said three years ago, they had a nice, very stable relationship with debt,\u201d said Pigeon.<\/p>\n

But he says the pharmacy chain investment changed that. Calgary Co-op entered into a three-year credit agreement for it in 2024 that will mature next year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

When it comes to patronage \u2014 the payments members receive as part of the co-op model \u2014members earned $16.9 million in 2025. In 2024 those payments totalled $17 million; in 2023, $21 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CEO calls Calgary Co-op an ‘institution’ in the city<\/p>\n

Clarke started his career at grocer Marks & Spencer in the U.K., before taking on a number of senior positions, largely in retail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I started to learn about Calgary Co-op, I realized this is an institution in Calgary,\u201d Clarke said as to why he was drawn to the role.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The easy access to mountain skiing was a bonus, he added.<\/p>\n

WATCH | New Co-op CEO says grocer must serve Calgarians better:<\/p>\n

He said the 2025 earnings show the company is \u201cback on a better footing,” but acknowledges more needs to be done. <\/p>\n

Financials still need to improve, he said \u2014 but more importantly, it\u2019s about listening to members and improving their experience at a time he said customers are reporting cost of living is a key concern.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got to build from here, and I think that starts with serving members better,” Clark said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have got to do a better job of explaining how we can deliver value across a number of the retail banners that we own as Calgary Co-op and then passing that value onto our members more effectively.” <\/p>\n

Clarke said one of the changes he brought on before officially assuming the role of CEO is a price-matching program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But retail analyst Doug Stephens says that incentive does not always work with shoppers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt signals that you are overpriced \u2014 and you know it \u2014 to the consumer,\u201d Stephens said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s kind of a smoke signal that, hey, we are likely to be overpriced, and if you catch us, we will bend \u2014 which is fine to placate the super price-conscious consumer, but what it really does is it penalizes your loyal consumers who maybe aren’t quite as price-conscious.\u201d <\/p>\n

Transparency<\/p>\n

One of the red flags to Pigeon when he analyzes the moves Calgary Co-op is making, alongside the details available in the earnings report, is the degree of transparency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYour annual report is your opportunity to communicate with your members and help them understand your strategic thinking. They\u2019re your owners,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I don’t see any evidence that they’re sharing any of this. They haven’t for years now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That perceived lack of communication is something that longtime member Terry Vulcano highlights as an issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re not really sharing with us, saying: hey, look, this is good. This is why we’ve done it. It’s not making sense to me,\u201d said Vulcano, who says he has been a member since 1970. <\/p>\n

At this spring\u2019s annual general meeting, Co-op member Trent Cherak put forth a motion calling for the board to provide a written explanation as to why a permanent CEO had not yet been found. Ultimately, the motion was not carried, and Co-op announced at the AGM it was getting close to finalizing the new hire.<\/p>\n

He described the AGM as \u201ca little tense.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely feels like our local co-operative is being operated more like a corporation rather than a co-operative,\u201d Cherak said. \u201cAnd there’s concern there that when a company is operating as a corporation, it’s not for the benefit of member-owners.\u201d<\/p>\n

WATCH | Inside a ‘tense’ Calgary Co-op annual meeting:<\/p>\n

Former NDP MLA Bob Hawkesworth also attended the AGM, and said he felt a sense of disconnect between members and the board due to lack of communication and distress over recent store closures. That was addressed at the AGM, he said \u2014 something that gave him a bit more optimism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAcknowledging the problem is the first step. And then how they actually address it \u2014 people will be paying attention in the year to come,\u201d Hawkesworth said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hawkesworth ran unsuccessfully for the board just before the pandemic, motivated by his disapproval of the break with Federated Co-operatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the focus almost exclusively on the profit margins,\u201d he said. \u201cBut in the process the membership is not being engaged and that may be the problem here \u2014 that people need to feel some greater connection and purpose beyond those patronage dividends they get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Calgary Co-op board member Terry Geib says patronage should not be the primary focus of a co-operative. She\u2019s now the executive director of the co-operative Memorial Society, which does not offer a patronage to members.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at human behaviour, patronage is an incentive. It isn\u2019t why people join, really,\u201d said Geib. \u201cIt’s not the be all and end all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/p>\n

Stephens, the retail analyst, said the grocery sector remains a \u201cvery, very low-margin sort of razor’s edge kind of business.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Geib said she saw firsthand how tough the industry could be when she was on Co-op\u2019s board from 2001-2016, and said rising prices have only made things tighter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ultimately, she remains a big believer of the co-op model. Calgary Co-op has grown and adapted before, and she says it will continue to do so to survive as the years go on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In general, she says, older people tend to understand the model better. Younger people will often show interest once they learn more about it, but the problem is, many are unfamiliar with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cherak, who put forth the motion at the AGM about the lack of a CEO, said in an email he\u2019s looking forward to seeing what Clarke can accomplish.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Calgary Co-op to be successful, I believe Andrew and our Co-op must balance profitable execution while remembering our Co-op’s unique member-owner structure,\u201d Cherak wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The co-op model is what makes the grocery chain unique, Clarke said in a news release announcing his appointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy job is to listen to what members want from their Co-op and then work with our teams to deliver it,\u201d Clarke said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Calgary Co-op has a new CEO, who\u2019ll take the reins of a co-operative that in recent years has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":827254,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":["post-827253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/827254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}